Legend of Spyro: Hidden past
by Darius the Dragon
Summary: ok a little summary update. Darius is a normal high school kid dealing with normal problems. until Malefor interupts that is.
1. prolauge

Prologue:

Cyrix ducked as a bolt of dark energy streaked past his head. The purple dragon was running through the forest as he desperately tried just to get away from the dark Master. He was panted panting heavily and was almost out of energy when he spotted a cave far up ahead. He bolted for with the last of his strength and just as he got inside another bold of dark energy struck him in the back. He collapsed on the floor still clutching the dragon egg that he swore to his wife he would protect. Malefor walked into the cave and sneered at the purple dragon.

"So, you think that you can actually escape when I rule the entire planet."

"You will never win Malefor, the dragons will destroy you a Neiman know I failed the next purple dragon will not."

"are you referring to that egg that you are protecting?"

"I don't know if the egg will hatch to bear the next purple dragon or not but I do know that you will never get your claws on it."

"You seem so confident but do you really think you can protect it from me? I am 10 times more powerful than I ever was and I will easily crush you and steal that egg away from you, the last hope that you have."

"Never!!!!"

Suddenly Cyrix's body began to glow with a bright purple aura. Purple dragon rose up and unleashed the energy on Malefor. The dark Master cried in agony but before he could react, Cyrix turned to his egg and blasted it with the remainder of his energy, a small portal opened above the egg and the date dissolved into the portal. Malefor cried out in anger "No!"

As the egg disappeared Malefor turn to Cyrix and deliver the last blow destroying the dragon and turning him into nothingness.


	2. Chapter 1

"Hurry up RJ or we're going to be late again!"

Darius and his friend were running down the halls of their high school. They had already been late three times that week alone and couldn't risk being late again.

"We'll make it, don't worry, it's not like Mrs. Brunburg will lock us out."

As they reached the door Darius grabbed the handle and heard a soft CLICK. He gave a pull but it wouldn't budge.

"Won't lock us out huh?" RJ shrugged. "Hey, it's not my fault she's an evil hag."

They both headed for a nearby bench and sat down. 10 minutes passed before RJ spoke.

"Soooo…. What are we gonna do?"

This caused Darius's temper to flare.

"Do? What do you mean, do? We're going to sit here until another teacher comes along and tell them what that witch did to us!"

As soon as he was done they turned around at the sound of a loud crash.

"What on earth? RJ, wait here for someone and I'll check it out."

"No way! I'm coming too."

The boys were at the back of the school next to the gym and the noise had come from behind it. Darius started forward only to be stopped by a hand on the shoulder.

"What are you doin!" RJ hissed "If you get caught back there you'll only be in worse trouble!"

Behind the gym was a large secluded lot. It was gated off and the only people back there were smokers.

"Fine, if you're to chicken then wait here." With that Darius hopped the fence.

Darius looked around. 'Only knee-high grass and cigarette butts. Must've been a squirrel.'

He heard a snap and froze. From the bushes he could see a pair of beady red eyes watching him. He starred at the eyes and they stared back. Slowly the creature raised its head and Darius gasped in shock. He was stunned at the sight of a wyverns head, black with long fangs and frills behind the ear holes. It was like a staring contest, neither one of them moving. The wyvern broke the silence with its snake-like voice.

"My master requests your presence."

Darius jumped back at the sound.

"Holy crap, you can talk!?"

"Yes, some of us can others cannot. It was a gift from my master."

"Who exactly is this 'master'?" Darius thought this was all a dream and didn't believe a word of it. "What does he want with me huh? Why should I care?"

The wyvern hissed angrily. "Insolent fool. You will learn respect!"

He lunged for Darius who ducked to the side, fangs missing by inches. The beast hit the wall hard. Shaking the stars from its eyes he turned to attack again but Darius was gone.

Darius was sprinting across the field trying to reach the road. He tuned to look and saw the evil lizard in the air and diving strait at him. He turned to flee but only got two steps before it hit him. He screamed in pain then felt nothingness engulf him and blacked out.


	3. Chapter 2

The early morning sun warmed Spyro's scales as he flew over the forest. He let out a long relaxed sigh "It's so beautiful, and now that Malefor is gone, I can enjoy it. He had woken up earlier than usual and decided to let Cynder sleep and take some time to relax. It wasn't long before he noticed smoke coming from the mountains. "Sigh; guess I'll have to cut my break short." As he turned to investigate he failed to notice many beady eyes watching him.

Darius shivered and woke. "Were am I?" He could feel an ache in his back and head. All he knew about his surroundings has that cold stone and sounded enclosed, also it was dark, very dark. He got up and walked around with his arms outstretched. He took a few steps before he noticed something, his shoes felt oddly lose and floppy. He sat down and finally realized something. "Hey wait, how did I get here? I remember getting locked out of class and…. Gasp! The wyvern!" He looked around the dark, fearing that the wyvern might be hiding. He ignored his shoes and got up and started walking until he hit a wall. He felt around until his hand bumped a piece of stone that jutted out. He grabbed it and light flooded the cave. It was a small, purple crystal and it gave off light like a torch. He was in a small chamber with a door at one end. He pulled on the handle but it was locked. He sat by the door, disappointed. "I wonder where I am?" I hope RJ or someone saw that black thing." He looked down to check his shoes and screamed in shock. His shoes had been ripped apart at the seams and his feat had transformed into dragons talons. They were covered in glossy black scales that ended half way up his calf and peppered his skin up to his knee. "This has got to be a dream." He reached out and felt them. "They feel real." He felt his now dragon toes. "This is too weird." He pulled off the remains of his sneakers and, throwing them aside, began getting acclimated to his new appendages. Darius heard a click and turned to see the door open. The same wyvern entered. "My master wishes to see you."


	4. Chapter 3

Cynder grumbled and covered her head with a wing. The sun was shining right on her face and wok her up. "I hate it when it does that. Why couldn't they give Spyro a room that faced away from the sun?" She was lying on a pile of pillows in the middle of Spyro's room, or rather, their room. She sighed sadly. "It's been a month since we killed Malefor and Warfang is still in ruins." She got up, yawned then realized Spyro wasn't there. "Hey, where'd he go? He was with me when I went to sleep." She blushed at herself. After she expressed her feelings to Spyro they had become closer than ever, but not quite mates yet. She went over to Sparx on the mantle. He had made himself a small bed that he used for when he visited them. Cynder poked Sparx carefully. "Sparx? Get up."

The little dragonfly shot up and yelled out,"It was Cynder, she did it!!" Cynder looked at him curiously. "Sparx, have you seen Spyro?"

He shook his head then fell back asleep. Cynder smiled but her smile turned to a frown of worry. "He always gets into trouble when he goes out alone."

She headed down to the mess hall to see if he was there.

"Hey Cynder!" Cynder turned to see Ember and Flame wave her over. "Hey Flame, Ember. Have you seen Spyro?"

"No, is he in trouble?" Flame replied with a grin. Cynder thought of this. "I don't know. He could be. I couldn't find him this morning and he's still missing."

Ember piped up. "We'll help you look for him if you want." Cynder almost jumped for joy. "Yes, thank you, we can leave right now!" She dashed from the hall, Flame and Ember following closely. "Cynder slow down!" they said in unison.


	5. Chapter 4

Darius tripped and fell, again. He had been following the wyvern for some time now but it took longer than it should because his feet where hard to walk with. 'This is ridiculous! And I still don't know why this happened.' He stumbled along the wall for support. The wyvern was growing impatient. "Hurry up whelp!"

"I can't right now! Leave me alone. "This resulted in a starring contest, the wyvern won. "What is your name? If you have one." Darius inquired. "The wyvern stared for another minute before responding. "My name is Blackwing."

It took them another 10 minutes to reach their destination, a very large cavern with level upon level of walkways and catwalks filled with wyverns. What caught Darius's attention the most was a massive purple crystal with a very large dragon inside. The crystal emanated a soft purple glow and, as he stared in aw at it, began to pulsate, and glow brighter.

Spyro descended and walked towards a large gateway hidden in the mountains. "When did this get here?" he cautiously crept forward when the sounds of a large commotion came from behind the gate. "Crap!" he ducked behind a large pile of rocks as the noise grew louder. "Not good!"

Darius stood on aw as a giant dragon spirit materialized above the mass of crystal. The dragon's eyes glowed yellow. "**Welcome young Darius, I've been expecting you."**

"You know my name? How?"

"**I've known who you are for a long time now. And I've been watching you, waiting to bring you back home."**

"Wait, back home? You kidnapped me! And my home is probably in another world huh!?"

"**You're upset and confused, I understand. BUT DO NOT DISRESPECT ME!"**

Darius didn't show it but he was terrified of this dragon. "What am I supposed to call you?"

"**You can call me Malifor."**

"Malifor, well then, can you tell me why the hell my feet are all…dragony?"

"**I was wondering when that would come up. Your not from the human world, you are from this world, the dragon realms. And yes you are actually a dragon, not a human."**

" ……WHAT?!?!?!"

"**Your father died trying to save your egg, sanding it to another, safer world. Thankfully we found you before someone else did."**

Suddenly black shadows swirled around him and covered his legs to the waist.

"Gah! Help! Malifor!"

The shadows dissolved and left him with legs that were now fully dragon, the scales stopping about 6 inches above his waist.

"GET ME OUTTA HERE!" He bolted for the nearest tunnel and made his way down the darkness. He heard Malifor yelling behind him. **"Stop him!"**

Dozens of wyverns took off after him. "O God, help!" Then he saw a door at the end with light filtering through the cracks. He put on a burst of speed and smashed into it, smashing the door to pieces. He tripped and fell. The wyverns were closing in! "Someone help!!" Then, just as the wyverns were about to emerge a massive column of fire filled the tunnel roasting them alive. As the screams died with the fire, Darius passed out.

Back at Malifor's chamber, a large, dark purple dragon crept from the shadows. "What now my lord?" The female dragon queried. "What will we do if they find him?"

"**YOU will track him down and bring him back. Take as many wyverns as needed."**

As she began to leave Malifor called out behind her. **"And Erasty, do not fail me."**


	6. Chapter 5

The wind rushed past her scales and the mid-morning sun warmed her scales. Any other day, Cynder would fly just for the feeling of peace this broght. But she could not enjoy it today for Spyro was still missing. '_I hope he's ok and didn't get into any trouble' _ A distant explosion caught her attention. _' That came from the mountains!' _ she adjusted her flight path and sped up. "Cynder slow down! Spyro is good at getting out of trouble!" Never the less Cynders worry only increased as the screams of dying creatures reached her.

Spyro stopped, exsausted from dragging this strange creature away from the cave entrance. He stopped in a small glade about a mile away. He set the creature doen and piled some sticks together for a fire. He looked at the thing with an air of curiosity. "Hmmmm… dragons leges and a body like that of a hairless ape. Very strange. But he carries a scent I've never smelled before." The creature stirred, sending Spyro into a defensive stance.

The sound of a crakling fire and someone talking woke Darius he slowly came to. "mmmmmm… wah? Where am I?" he turrend, vision still blurry, to a large purple mass. As his vision cleared he say he was face to face with a verey aggressive looking purple dragon creature. "BWAAAAAAAAA!"

"BWAAAAAAAAA!"

Darius tried to flee but just wobbled and fell. He scrambled desperately to get away. " hey, wait ! I'm not going to hurt you!" the dragons voice was filled with comfort and hope. Darius stopped and looked back. The dragon stood proud and strong. " what is your name?"

"D-Darius, whats yours?"

" I am Spyro. Haven't you heard of me?"

" No, I'm not really from this world. Are you supposed to be famous or something?"

" Well I'm just the dragon that comepletly saved the world from destruction, with Cynders help of course." This little detail made Spyro gasp. " Crap! Cynder! I totally forgot about her! She must be worried sick!"

" YOU BETTER BEILIVE I AM HERO BOY!!!" Both Darius and Spyro turned to see a black dragoness land in the clearing.


	7. Chapter 6

"Damn wyverns! Why aren't they ever on time?!" Erasty waited at the destroyed entrance of the cave for about a hundred of blackwings' forces. "They will be here soon mistress; the dead must be taken care of first." (A/N: the fire didn't incinerate all of them.) "Humph! If they don't get here soon they're going to join the dead ones!"

Blackwing shrank back and glared at her. "Remember that if I wanted to I could leave you alone and you would receive no help at all."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

The awkward silence that followed was soon broken by the large group of wyverns exiting the tunnels.

"Finally! Lets go, we're already late!"

"Cynder! What are you doing here?!"

"Looking for you! You've been gone all day and I was worried something might have happened to you!" She nuzzled Spyro's shoulder and he nuzzled back. "How about I make it up to you back home?" He said rather incitingly. Darius cringed slightly. "Yeah save the really mushy stuff for back home please." Cynder finally took notice of Darius. She jumped behind Spyro with fangs bared. "Who are you and what do you want?!"

"Whoa, easy there! I was just talking to purple boy here!"

"Purple boy?"

"Spyro is he right or can I take care of him?" Darius was even more afraid of Cynder than he was of Malefor and Spyro combined. "Cynder calm down! He's a friend and I just went through the trouble of saving him so killing him would be a waste." He looked at Darius with a weird look, He couldn't tell if Spyro was kidding, or serious. Cynder finally calmed down enough to think. "So, um, Darius is it? What in ancestors name are you?!" Darius was taken aback. "Wait, you mean to say that there are no other humans here?" They shook there heads. Spyro spoke up. "To my knowledge humans don't exist here. Except for you of course."

"Well at this point, I don't think I'm human either. I was taken from my world by a wyvern thing and when I woke my feet were all dragony. Then the same wyvern came and said his master wanted to talk to me. We arrived in this massive cavern and in the middle was a huge mass of crystal with a very large dragon inside." Cynder interrupted. "Wait a second! Was this crystal purple in color?"

"Yeah. The dragon's spirit, at least I think it was his spirit, Appeared and talked to me. He said I was the long lost son of another purple dragon and that m human form was only a disguise to let me blend in with the other humans." A very scary thought came to Spyro when Darius finished. "Did this dragon have a name?"

"Yes, I believe it was mal… Mali… um."

"Malefor." Spyro looked at Cynder. "But Spyro! We killed him!"

"No Cynder, we just trapped him in a big crystal. He's not dead yet."

"We have to get back to Warfang!" At this point, Flame and Ember landed. Flame was the first to speak. "Geez Cynder don't go off like that again." Spyro grinned. "Flame, Ember! Glad you came. Meet our new friend Darius." Ember was a little tentative. "Um, pleasure to meet you." Flame added. "Likewise."

"Nice to meet two more dragons."

Spyro was already in the air. "C'mon guys! We need to speak to the elders!"

Darius just laughed at him. "Well that's wonderful but how do I get there without flying?"

"Hmmmm, Flame! You and I will have to carry him."

"Ok but I hope he isn't too heavy."


	8. Chapter 7

Terrador was walking the halls of the old temple. After the war, the guardians decided to use this as the schooling and training grounds for the younger dragons. 'Apparently there are more dragons in hiding that don't know of Malifors defeat. We'll have to find and contact them somehow." His thoughts were interrupted by the beating of wings. "Cynder! Ember! Good to see you this fine morning" Cynder responded. "Hello Terrador! Can you come with us? We need your help."

"Very well. What do you need?"

"We found something really… interesting, but we can't carry it any more. It got to heavy for us." Ember snickered.

"Well then let's be off!"

Spyro and Flame were sprawled out in the grass in a small clearing. 10 miles carrying a human almost twice their size really took its toll. "Hey guys I'm sorry but I don't have wings yet."

Flame answered. "Hey man it's alright, but when you do get wings you're carrying us to the cave and back." Spyro and Flame laughed but Darius looked at them like the school principal from hell. The sight of Cynder and Ember made the two dragons sigh in relief. When Terrador came into few however, Darius freaked out. "Whoa! Ok, really big dragon!" He stepped back frantically as he landed and almost lost his footing as the ground shook. Terrador saw Spyro and Flame and smiled. But that smile dissolved when he looked to Darius. The first thing he noticed was that he had the lower half of a dragon. "What in ancestors name are you?!" Darius through up his hands in annoyance. "Geez! Is that the first thing everyone is going to say to me?!" Toreador was taken aback. "Well pardon me then. I've just never seen a creature like you before."

"Yeah, I'm from another world altogether. Who are you by the way?"

"I am Toreador, the earth guardian. And you are?"

"Darius"

"Ah, very nice to meet you young Darius. Now tell me, where are you from?"

"Uh, about that. Can we wait until we get where we're going first? I'm tired of having to repeat myself."

"Very well. Climb up and we'll be off." Darius got on Terradors back and they continued onward.

Cyril was talking to Volteer when Terrador arrived. "Ah, good morning Terrador. Were have you been?"

"Oh, just helping the young ones with this." He bucked and sent a screaming Darius through the air. "Aaaauuuuuuggggghhhhhhh!" Just before he hit, Terrador caught him in his fore paws. "Don't… ever… do that again!"

"What in ancestors name are you?!"

Darius just sighed.


	9. Chapter 8

"Spyro! Spyro! Where are you!?" Darius was searching for the purple dragon to answer a few questions. The previous night had been nothing but "What in ancestors name is that!?" and various other pointless questions. They gave him a room near the center of the temple. If he tried to escape (why would he?) He had to get past the guardians in one direction and spyro and the gang in the other. "Spyr, OOOFF!" he ran smack into Ember. "Hey watch it! Oh Darius, I'm sorry. You looking for Spyro?"

"Yeah, have you seen him?"

"No, I've been trying to find him all morning. I got a new plan to win his heart."

"Um… isn't he with Cynder?"

"Not for long." She smiled evilly.

Terradors voice boomed through the temple," All younglings to the training hall please."

Darius looked around confused. "How'd he do that?"

"Oh, they recently rigged up pipes all around the temple. You talk in one end and it comes out at all the other openings."

"Oh yeah, they have those at some play parks back home"

They all arrived at the training hall very quickly. Spyro spoke up first. "What's going on Terrador?"

"Well, every one. The other elders and I wanted to see Darius again to see if his transformation has progressed."

"Couldn't you just check up on me?"

"Well we wanted to try something if you hadn't progressed yet. We're going to unlock your inner dragon."

"Darius's eyes went wide in shock. "How!?"

"Like this." The elders formed a circle around him. "You to young ones." They all followed suite and began to pool their energy. "Concentrate now!" The dragons began to glow and a sphere of energy formed above them. With a mighty roar they all collapsed and the sphere fell onto Darius. He gasped t the power and the shadows began to mix with the ligh, forming a cocoon around him it pulsed faster and faster until in a deafinging explosion it vanished, leaving a black and pruple dragon on the floor.


	10. Chapter 9

'_where am I? is this space?'_ Darius floated through an emty blackness. A voice echoed through the void. **"This is your own mind. Your dragon has side has finally been awakend. But I must warn you of the darkness. When Malefor originally awakned your dragon, he planted a seed of darkness. Do not let it grow. Do not give into hatred or evil thoughts that could feed it. And now, … awaken!"**

"Hey! He's coming around!" Darius groned and slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry. "What's going on? Where am I?" He saw a black smudge throw up two smaller black smudges. "Thank the ancestors he's alive!" His vision cleared and he looked at Cynder, still with arms raised. "Why would I be dead?" Terrador cme into view next. "There was a small chance that instead of finishing your transformation, the energy could have killed you."

"Wait, What do you mean transformation?"

"look for yourself." Cynder pointed to her left. He turned to look at a mirror, and a black dragon. He had dark purple belly scales as well as purple spikes down it's back and the arms of his wings. It had two horns that curved horns that curved back then up half way back. The last two features where yellow eyes and a leaf shaped tail blade.

"Is… is that…me?"

he looked at Terrador. "Yes young one, that is indeed you."

He just starred in pure aw. He got up slowly, felling every powerfull new musle in his body. He smiled. "yes" hecrouched low to the gournd and leaped into the air with a yell. "YEES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"I say whats all the commotion?" the others entered and the first thing they noticed was Darius running on the walls and jumping through the air shouting Yes! Over and over.

* * *

"Erasty!"

The purple dragoness slowly made her way to the crystal that contained her master.

"Y-yes my lord?"

"You have failed me for the last time! You are done!" a blinding flash filled her vision. She could feel herself falling head over heels for what felt like an eternity. Then, nothing.

**Sorry it's so short but I'm stuck again. Oh well.**


	11. Chapter 10

"Darius…Darius wake up!" Ember was in Darius's room _trying _to wake him, and failing. "I swear you're worse than Flame." Yet he still wouldn't wake. Cynder entered to see if he was up yet. "Hey Ember any luck?"

"No, and if he doesn't wake up soon we're going to be late!"

"I got an idea." Cynder walked over to Darius and began to charge her shadow fire. "Wait!" Ember hissed. "Doesn't that kill people?" Cynder just grinned and blew small puff at the end of his tail, just before the blade. The reaction was instant. "WWAAAAAAAUUGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he jumped up and grabbed his tail, crying from the pain. Ember looked to Cynder and they both broke into laughter. Darius was furious. "YOU THINK THAT WAS FUNNY!?" his eyes turned red and the girls instantly shrank back in pure horror. Shadows began to flicker around him as his purple color began to fade into black. Cynder stepped forward and slapped him very hard in one swift motion. "Darius! Snap out of it!" He grabbed his head and fell over. "Uuuuhhh… Wha… What's going on?" Ember was still frozen in fear but Cynder had dealt with it before. "You could've killed us! Shadow is dangerous. Don't use it until you're trained." Darius was now very confused. "Wait, what? I can use shadow?"

Cynder was taken aback. "You…you don't remember?" He shook his head. "No. should I have?" he looked at Ember who froze again before taking off crying in pure fear. "What was that about?" Cynder shook her head. "Let's just go. The elders want us."

"Oy, you! You ok there missy?"

"Uggh… wha? Where am I?"

"You my dear are in the southern dragon village. Wha's your name?"

"I... I don't remember."

"Aahh, a touch of amnesia I see. Well I'm sure you'll get your head strait soon. Rest up; we're leaving for Warfang soon."

Terrador called out to get everyone's attention. "Everyone! We are leaving for Warfang city! Is everybody ready?" Darius lowered his head. Cynder noticed out of the corner of her eye. "Darius, is something wrong?" All eyes turned to the black dragon. "I…don't know how to fly yet." Terrador just grinned. "Well that shouldn't be a problem. You should be able to learn quite easily. Follow me please!" He led them to the balcony. "Ok everyone you get started. We'll catch up." Darius walked to the edge and looked down. Waaaay down. "Um, Terrador?" he got no reply, so he turned to look for the green guardian. Big mistake. His massive tail smacked Darius in the side and over the edge. "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Open your wings to catch the air!" He did so and immediately slowed. "Now flap!" After again doing so he flew back up to the balcony. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" His eyes flashed red for a second. "That young one was just some encouragement. Now let's be off!"


	12. Chapter 11

**Yay it's an authors note! :D I don't do very many of these so yeah. I've been slow on the updates cuz I'm making the story up as I go. No pre-planing. Enjoy! ^^**

This strange speaking dragon had later introduced himself as Solaris. He was golden yellow with a blue under belly and wing membrane. "Well missy, I got something t'show ya before we head out to the city. I'd like ya t'meet my family." As she stepped into the clearing, Erasty saw two adult dragons and one younger one the younger one, obviously female, skipped forward to great her. "Hello there! My name is Luna; it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine. Are these your parents?" The larger of the two stepped forward. "I am Draken, Luna and Solaris's father. It is very nice to meet you. I thought Solaris would never find a dragoness."

"Father!" the mother stepped up. "My name is Grace; will you be coming with us to the city?"

"Yes, I'm hoping to find some trace of family in the library records."

"You mean you have no family?" Erasty hung her head sadly. "I can't remember."

They tried to comfort her but it did little to help. Then they where off.

* * *

"So, where are we going again?" Darius inquired as the group flew over the vast expanse of earth below. "We, young one, are nearing Warfang. It's the largest of the dragon cities." Terrador replied.

As the sun began to set, a vast golden colored mass of stone appeared on the horizon. "Is that Warfang?"

Spyro flew closer to Darius. "Yep, that's it. We should be there soon."

The light was nothing more than an orange and pink glow by the time they arrived. A large crowd had gathered in the main square, long awaiting the arrival of the guardians and the heroes of the realms. Cheetah, dragon, and mole alike all cheered when they all landed and the massive throng swarmed in and surrounded the group shouting, "They have arrived! Spyro and Cynder have arrived!"

Darius was confused. "Uh hey flame? Why are Spyro and Cynder really famous here?"

"Oh, well… they saved the world from the greatest evil ever to exist."

Darius was speechless. "Whoa….." before they could continue their conversation Terradors booming voice echoed across, well, everything. "Attention everyone! As you all know, this young purple dragon here is Spyro, and the black dragoness is Cynder. They both worked together to defeat Malifor. They should be treated as heroes; however, I do not want you to swarm them like you would a celebrity. Threat them as you would another average dragon."

Spyro and Cynder both sighed a deep sigh of relief.

"Lord Malifor! We have returned with the dragon that you require!"

"**Excellent work Blackwing. Bring her forth."**

Three wyverns entered towing a black and red dragoness tied in a net. She had black scales and red stripes on her legs and tail. Her deep red chest was covered in short soft fur and she had long flowing brown lock on her head; as well as long cat-like ears.

"**Welcome Layla, I've been expecting you. Place her on the pedestal!"**

In front of the dark master there was a large table carved from Malifors crystalline prison.

"Let me go!! Let me go!!" they place her on the table and Malifor began to channel dark energy into her. "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"**Bwahahahahahahahaaaaa!!!"**


	13. Chapter 12

"Wow…I get a totally new life and in a few weeks time I'm back in school. Wow" Darius sulked to his first class; dragon history with Cyril. The other guardians also taught other classes. Terrador taught fighting, aerial combat, and element training. Volteer taught math and gramar, ya that was going to be "fun". But things were already looking up for him. He was one of the most popular guys in the school. Being single and friends with the biggest hero's in the world helped with that. Flame and Ember were popular too but not as much. The weird thing was that, while Spyro and Cynder were by far _the_ most popular dragons in the whole world, no one really bothered them or swarmed them like they sometimes did to Darius. As he passed a window, a large commotion caught his eye. "What the…?" He leapt out of the window and glided down to investigate.

Inside a large ring of dragons, two older dragons, a yellow one with blue wings and chest, and a green one with rippling muscles and two ram-like horns as well as a small one on his snout. The yellow dragon was loosing. Darius heard him shout. "I will not let you have my sister! If she doesn't want you you'll have to deal with it!" "Those were the wrong words AGAIN Solaris!" the green dragon scraped his tail along the ground and flung at least a dozen stone spears towards Solaris. He dogged all but one. "AAUUGGHH!!" It hit him in the chest, piercing his lung. The green dragon moved towards a white dragoness with golden horns. "And now I claim my prize." She tried to flee but the crowd wouldn't let her. Darius had no idea why but he leapt up and landed between the dragoness and the bully. "What the hell do you think your doin!?" "Protecting this young lady who obviously doesn't want to be anywhere near you. And I've a pretty good idea what you planned to do with her!"

"GRRR! Get out of my way!" The green dragon swung his massive right paw at Darius who ducked and fired a shadow orb at the green one. "AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!" The large dragon was sent flying away and into a wall. He fell on the ground writhing in pain s the shadow began to act like acid. It faded away and left the green dragon on the ground still screaming and convulsing.


	14. Chapter 13

As the energy died away, the black and red dragon slowly rose. **"Excellent! How do you feel?"** her head lifted to face Malefor. "Good my master." Malefor was most pleased with this response. **"Perfect, now I need you for a special mission. I want you to find the black dragon named Darius."** She got off the table and headed for the exit. **"Wait! You can't go out like that! You would be too conspicuous in that form. **(A/N: anthro dragon. From my friend on DA) **you need a disguise or at least…" **He trailed off and fired energy at the dragoness again, this time shifting her form to that of the other dragons in the realm. Her hair disappeared only to be replaced by brown spikes. **"There we go. Now be off!"**

* * *

The throng of dragons all stared in shock. They had never seen or heard of an energy attack like this before. The young white dragoness Darius protected slowly stepped towards out hero of the hour. "Why…Why did you protect me?" her voice was shaky. "Well… I don't really know. Something told me that you needed help so I helped."

"Well thank you very much! I can only imagine what he would've done had he gotten to me" Darius cringed at the thought. "Yeesh that would've been bad. I'm Darius by the way." "Luna. It's a pleasure to meet you." A groan came from the gold colored dragon and Luna rushed towards him. "Solaris! Are you ok!?" "Aye I'm fine thanks t'yer friend ther." Darius beamed. "Hey, anytime." Luna turned back to the black dragon. Um, would you like to join me; I mean, us for dinner?" she asked shyly. Darius blushed a bit. "Well I wouldn't want to impose"

"Oh not at all!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Well then let's be off then!" Solaris yelled, getting their attention and hurrying them along.

* * *

Layla hurried through the forest just outside the city of Warfang. As she came over the hill ahead of her she got her first glimpse of the city walls. "Wow, this place is huge! This isn't going to be easy." Suddenly the ground in front of her cracked open and a small black crystal poked out of the ground. Malifors eyes appeared and his voice could be heard. "**Don't be intimidated by the size of the city. There are currently only two black dragons in the city. You've heard of Cynder right?" **"The terror of the skies? Yes I remember her." **"Good. She is the only other black dragon here. If you can recruit her as well I will give a little bonus reward. Now hurry, time is of the essence." **


	15. Chapter 14

Cynder sat alone in a small corner of the schools library. Because of her unique elements, she had to be taught separately when in element training. She sighed sadly, letting a tear fall onto the book she was studying. The other dragons thought of her as a freak, having such weird powers. Almost all of the dragonesses were angry that such a "flawed" dragoness could be the only one to catch the eye of the purple dragon.

Spyro saw her and quietly crept over only to be stopped by a trio of dragonesses, a blue ice dragon, an orange fire, and muddy brown earth dragon. The ice dragoness stepped forward. "Hello there, my name is Shard, you want to go visit the gardens for a while?" the other two stifled a giggle as Spyro saw where this was heading. "No thanks, I'm going to meet a friend." He looked to Cynder and the other three followed his gaze. Shard spoke again. "That black freak? Why on earth would anyone want to hang out with her?"

Spyro growled deep in his throat. "Don't call her a freak when you don't even know her. She is the most talented and powerful dragoness I've ever seen."

"Did you hit your head when you hatched or something!?" by now the rest of the library, including Cynder, heard the commotion and quietly watched the events unfold, as Shard continued.

"She was the terror of the skies that destroyed most of the dragon race and served the Dark Master! She still has that darkness in her and you just ignore the fact that she could kill us all in the blink of and eye! How can you care for such a corrupt and evil bi---"

she was cut off as Spyro let loose a thunderous roar that shook the whole of the academy and caused several bookshelves to instantly crumble. "HOW DARE YOU!!" He roared again sending the three trouble makers running as the rest of the dragons just looked on in shock as he made his way over to Cynder and lay down next to her.

"So, what are you reading?"

* * *

Layla wandered the cit slowly, dragging her wings and tail. Apparently the size of the city made it appear closer than it was. She was still at least an hour from reaching the outer wall and then she had to walk three miles to the academy. To tired to fly she collapsed under a large oak tree and fell asleep.

The sound of birds brought her back. The sun was rising and the city could be heard form, what, maybe 3 miles away? _'Just a little farther' _

After stretching a bit she headed out again.

* * *

Solaris led the way to he and Luna's home, Darius was walking next to Luna. "So, Darius, where are you from?"

This caught him off guard a bit. The guardians had given him strict instructions that no one besides those who originally found him shall know of his real past except by express permission from the guardians. He promptly lied. "Oh, well, um… I'm an orphan and grew up in the old temple."

"Oh? Way out there? Cool. I grew up in a small hidden village in the middle of nowhere."

"Ah, so you're a country girl?"

"He he, I guess you could say that." They both blushed a bit and turned away from each other.

"Well, we're here!" Solaris exclaimed and stopped in front of a large stone door. The door slid into the ground and gave Darius a clear view of the inside, as well as Luna's parents.


	16. Chapter 15

The two large dragons got up and made their way over to the trio of young dragons.

"Solaris, your hurt! What happened?!" the dragoness hurried over to Solaris, picking him up and carrying him away. His protests fell on deaf ears.

"Luna, who is your new friend?" the much larger dragon looked at Darius with a kind, but somewhat threatening look.

"Daddy! This is Darius. He saved me from being attacked today."

"What!? Thank you for saving my daughter, but who would dare to attack you!" Luna's father snarled and lashed his tail.

"It was that pompous jerk kain." The adult had an expression of shock plastered across his face.

"But that's the high elder's son. Oh this is not good. But I will deal with it in the morning. In the mean time, allow me to introduce myself, I am Draken and the frantic dragoness you saw but a glimpse of, was Grace, my mate."

Darius smiled but was still a bit nervous. "Well it's quite a pleasure to meet sir."

"The pleasure is all mine" Suddenly a cry of pain echoed throughout the home. Draken turned his attention back to Luna. "Sigh, I'd better make sure Solaris is alright. You two stay out of trouble." Draken gave the two of them a sly grin, and they both blushed in return. "I think your dad has the wrong idea."

"Um, actually he's kinda forward with the whole finding-a-mate thing."

"Oh well that's… wait, what?"

"He keeps trying to find me a mate so that I can 'have a better life'. I think he just wants me out."

"Wow, that sounds a bit annoying." He did a double take, "Hold it, so he thinks I'm…"

"Well… yeah."

Darius just starred off at nothing, completely spacing out. 'Holy crap! I never thought that I'd end up in a love situation! Oh, this is sooo weird.' He'd had some crushes during high school, but as a dragon? Well, that was just so different that it almost seemed scary to think about. "whoa whoa whoa, slow down. So your dad thinks that I'm the guy whose going to marry you!?"

"Marry? No of course not."

"Oh, good."

"Only moles and cheetahs do that, dragons just have to mate and we're together for life."

This was not what Darius needed to hear at this moment. "Mate for life?" His eyes bugged out as he realized what this entailed. He started to freak a bit then passed out. "Darius!" Luna rushed over to his limp body and nudged him a bit. Not getting a response, she rushed to the other room and came back with a bucket of water. In her haste she tripped, losing her grip on the bucket and falling. With a muffled "oof" she landed; on Darius. The bucket spilled its contents all over the two of them and woke Darius, the bucket rolling behind a table.

Then Luna's father descended the stairs to see his daughter on top of Darius and both of them soaked. His eyes went wide, "Well now! I can see you two are off to a great start."


	17. Chapter 16

Layla trudged through the massive city, wings drooped, head down and tail dragging. The speed with which she arrived was a truly remarkable feat. An old dragon watched her as she slowly walked by. "Hey miss! You look like you could use some rest!" Layla turned her head sharply, surprised that anyone would speak to her... confused; she cocked her head and pointed to herself with one claw. "Yes you, come on now." When she made it over to the old one she could finally get a good look at him. He was a muddy brown with only two horns, one half gone.

"What do you want? I'm very tired and very busy." Layla stated rather coldly. But the old one ignored her attitude. "Well I own this small in here and thought you might like to stay the night. Do you have family in Warfang?"

Layla shook her head. Then the old one smiled. "Well then if you have no place to stay why don't you come in?" Reluctantly, she agreed, not because she wanted to, but for the sake of appearance.

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

BANG BANG BANG! "Hey! Open up in there!"

Darius woke with a start, the banging on his door jolting him from his pleasant dreams.

"Um, who is it!"

"This is the city guard! Open up or we'll do it ourselves!" Darius looked worried. 'The city guard? What do they want with me?' He slowly made his way over and unlocked hid door. Almost immediately two large dragons in full battle armor rushed in and knocked him to the floor. "

"Hey! What the…"but he was cut off when one of the guards struck him on the head, knocking him out cold.

The other dragons in the dormitory heard the commotion and had all come out to see what had happened. Spyro and Cynder ran over when the guards emerged with a bound Darius in tow. Spyro was shocked and angered. "What is the meaning of this!"

The first guard was the one to reply. "This does not concern you! Now off with you unless you want to join him!"

Cynder stepped up to Spyro's defense. "What reason do you have for apprehending an innocent dragon!"

The guard's face curved into a mocking smile. "Innocent! Why, this one assaulted and mortally wounded the high elder's son! He's to be taken into custody on the orders of the elder himself."

Both Spyro's and Cynder's faces darkened. If the high elder was involved then this would make things far more complicated.

\\\\\

In a small, open room at the top of the main tower in the center of Warfang, a large, old dragon stood hunched over a scroll. His scales were a dull brown, his belly scales green. His horns were very long and almost seemed to sag towards his back, same with the smaller set beneath his main ones. He had one large sickle shaped tail blade and two bright green eyes. This was the figure of the high elder, Mearnos. His son lay on a lavish pillow in the corner, every inch of him covered in white bandages. "Father, what exactly do you plan to do to that black bastard!" The elder swung his heavy head around to face him.

"Kain, I told you it would be a surprise. But I will tell you this; he will pay heavily for his crimes." He turned his head back to the scroll.

A few minutes later two guard burst in, carrying a gagged and bound black dragon. They roughly tossed him to the floor. "Kain jumped to his feet. "Finally!" But then he immediately collapsed and held his head in is paws, grimacing in pain.

"Ah, our guest has arrived." He looked from Darius to the guards. "Have guardians been called?"

"Yes sir, they should be on their way now."

As son as he finished the three guardians, led by Terrador, entered. "Elder Mearnos what is this! You said we were needed to deal with a major offender! All I see is one of our pupils beaten and tied up lying on your floor. I demand an explanation. Now!"

Mearnos got up and made his way to the green earth dragon. "You seem to be ignorant of the situation." Volteer muttered something akin to 'no shit Sherlock' but was unheard by the elder. "This delinquent viciously attacked my son with no provocation!"

Terrador growled. That's rubbish! Were there any witnesses?"

Mearnos grinned. "There were a few but none have shown as of yet."

As if in defiance the doors flew open yet again. Spyro and Cynder marched in, closely followed by a white dragon and a gold dragon. Spyro turned to face Mearnos. "These two were also involved in the fight your stupid son started!" The white dragon gasped at the sight of Darius tied and beaten. She rushed over and tried to wake him. Mearnos's voice echoed throughout the small room. "You there! Get away from him!"

"Bite me!" She turned back to the black dragon and channeled a small but steady flow of electricity through his body. His breathing began to increase and he awoke gasping. "Gah! Whuh...who..." his vision came back into focus and ha saw the worried face of Luna over him. "Luna? What, where am I? What's going on?"

"Shh. You're hurt. Don't move we'll get you out of here soon."

Mearnos growled very loudly. "You will do no such thing while I am still in charge! He is to be imprisoned for the damage he caused my son!"

"OY! Your Idiot son got what he deserved!" Solaris spoke out and moved over to help Luna untie Darius. "That fool tried to take advantage of my sister and if it wasn't for this lad here he would have succeeded!" The guardians gasped. Cyril stepped forward. "Mearnos, you now have two witnesses to confirm that what Darius did was in defense and that now, we find that your son almost committed a much worse crime." Terrador spoke next. "It is in my opinion that for the safety of the students at the academy that, because this could happen again, Kain be taught through private study, home school if you will. All in favor?" The guardians all raised their wings, even the young ones, except for Kain of course. The elder seemed as if he was going to explode.

"You cannot do that! I will not allow it!"

"You have no choice. We are the ones who decide who are schooled in the academy, and hence forth Kain is no longer admitted." With that final statement Terrador marched over to Darius and picked up his semi conscious form, then marched out, followed closely by the others. The last one out Was Luna, who turned to look back just before leaving, Kain smiled and shot her a wink. She sneered, disgusted, and shot a bolt of electricity through the floor. Kain yelped and tried to get away. Luna smiled to herself them turned face and left.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

The next day was going to be quite an interesting one. With Layla fully rested she thanked the innkeeper and then set out for the center if the city. If she was going to get info on this dragon then that was where to find it

/ / /

Mearnos grinned from ear to ear. "Well now, I think I have found the perfect solution for all of this. Tell me Kain, how did he defeat you?"

Kain struggled into a sitting position. "I'm not really sure, he used some sort of black liquid that burned into my very soul, and I can still feel its sting." Mearnos smiled even wider. "Dark energy, good, we can use that to our advantage. Now all we need is to make you stronger."

"How?"

The doors to the elder's room opened and a small dragon entered. "Master Mearnos? We have what you requested."

"Excellent! Set it up and begin at once!"

For more dragons came in, all carrying massive crates.

"Set them up around my son!"

They hurriedly did so, pulling out red and green crystal and making a ring out of them, alternating red, green, red, etc.

"Um, father? What are you going to do with health and energy crystals?"

But Mearnos didn't answer; instead he pulled out a small red orb and held it in midair above Kain.

"Tell me son, what are you willing to take to get revenge?" Kain looked confused. Then the elder dropped the sphere. It hit Kain in the back, exploding and covering him with red energy. Then the crystals began to glow and started channeling energy into him. "Father! What! !"

The glow intensified into a blinding light, Kain's scream of agony accompanying it. Then all at once the glow vanished, along with the crystal ring. In the middle stood Kain. His eyes were red, a strange scar crossed over his left eye. His tail blade became four, two on top of his tail and two on the bottom. In between was a red glowing orb of energy.

"Well son, how do you feel?"

He turned his head and roared with all his might releasing a blast of red energy into the sky.


	18. Chapter 17

"Darius! Darius can you here me!"

He was beginning to wake up, shadows and voices circling his head. "Luna back up, give him some breathing room." Finally the shadows took form. Luna was hovering over Darius's head; Solaris and Spyro were off to the side.

"L-Luna? What the heck happened? My head feels like it was hit with a cinder-block."

"Well, that's not far from the truth. Those guards threw you to the ground and you landed pretty hard."

"How long was I out?" Spyro answered this time. "Three days. We were afraid that they did some permanent damage to you."

"Nah, I feel fine." Suddenly Darius thought of something, something important. "Where are the guardians? I need to speak to them, now."

Spyro answered again. "They're in the room of the pool of visions. Are you sure you can walk?"

Darius stood, answering Spyro's question. "I hit my head, I didn't break my legs. Let's go."

/ / /

The room with the pool of visions was darkly lit. The three guardians were gathered in the center, around the pool. Volteer was talking too fast for the others to understand. Terrador held his head with one paw. "Volteer, honestly you'd think that by now you would've learned to speak like normal people."

"Ijustcan'thelpit! Theexcitementistoomuchforme!"

Terrador and Cyril just sighed.

"Terrador!" Spyro shouted, getting their attention. The guardians turned their heads as the group marched in. Spyro! What a surprise. Is there something we can do for you?"

"No Terrador not me, Darius."

"Darius? Actually that works out perfectly! We had something to tell you."

Darius and the others filed in and sat facing the guardians. Darius spoke first. "What are my powers? I looked in the library and couldn't find anything on…Dark Acid."

Terrador laughed. "That's what we wanted to tell you! You have powers that have only been mentioned once and in one very old scroll. The _ elements of Darkness itself. Not just shadow, but pure Darkness. These powers are Acid, as you well know, Shadow and Shadow manipulation." At this last one the young dragon's all said, "Huh?" Terrador caught himself. "Oh, well, Shadow manipulation is a form of mind control. It has limits though and is not like Malefor's corruption. Now the last one is Fury. Not elemental fury but the powerful and unbridled wrath of pure rage. You'll be able to use it on others as well to increase there power exponentially for a short time. This last one however is new and very hard to use, it comes in burst rather than being used as an actual element."

Darius looked down and pondered this news. "So…all my powers are darkness…" He grew very sad at this and looked as if on the verge of tears. Luna sidled up next to him. "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure you have at least one good power. Even Malefor had powers of good at one point." Darius smiled and nuzzled her. "Thank you…"

This sudden act of affection made her blush furiously. But she could still feel the pain and despair in his shallow breathing, so she didn't move. That is until Spyro cleared his throat. Darius moved away, still looking down, this time with his own embarrassment. "Sorry. So…what now?" Spyro replied, "We train. If Malefor is back we need more power to defeat him and now you can truly help us by unlocking your other abilities."

As they filed out, Terrador pondered to himself and smiled at Darius and Luna, walking side by side at the end of the group. _'What a fine pair those two will make. What a fine pair indeed.'_


	19. Chapter 18

As the sun rose on the new day, Darius didn't. _'Ow…I don't think I've ever had that hard of a workout in a looong time.' _

Immediately after leaving the guardians council room, the young dragons went to the main training hall and Spyro and Cynder drilled everyone else on powers and combat and even a fancy flight obstacle course. Solaris was still recovering and only partook in the elemental training. His first attack on the astounded everyone when he unleashed a solid sphere of light which chased down the training dummy and disintegrated it on impact. Spyro flew over to him. "Wow, I've never seen anyone use condensed light before. How did you do that?"

"Well ya see, it's a condensed form of electricity. Converting it from elemental into energy form. It took me two years to come up with. Hey! I bet you'd have no trouble using it, being the purple one and all."

"Really? Ok I'll give it a shot." He focused on the next target and concentrated on his electricity element. He charged it up to release but held it in, putting more power into it. In a few seconds the energy began to sting and he let it go in pain. "YOW! Ow, owowow!" Thankfully no one was hit. Unfortunately he forced sooooo much energy into the attack that instead of a ball of white light, it was a sphere of yellow brown energy. Solaris gasped in alarm and shouted, "Take cover! Now!" They all dived behind crates or in corners as the energy struck. It blew apart the target and everything around it. The force was so great it blew out the far wall and everyone in the room flew back into the three remaining walls. After they recovered, Spyro decided to call it a day.

Something else had happened to him and Luna though, that was far more important than training. It took all his courage but he managed to ask her out for that evening. "God, I can't believe it. She said yes!" He was more surprised at himself. He had never dreamed he'd fall in love, or with a beautiful dragoness for that matter. It was only an hour till he was to leave with her. The plan was to take her to the very top of the temple and watch the sunset. Then…well, he didn't know what to do after that. He was too love struck.

He made his way to the center of the city, and near the central fountain, there she was. Her scales were polished, as well as her horns. She had on a beautiful gold chain with a small ruby on it. He timidly walked up to her and, very shyly, spoke. "H-hey Luna. You look…beautiful." She giggled and thanked him, and then they took off.

Once they landed he set out a small quilt he had hidden up there earlier and they sat side by side, watching the sunset. Without warning Luna leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh. Darius stiffened and his breath caught. He could feel her warmth on his scales. Dozens of thought ran through his head. _'What do I do now? Oh, man…gottta think fast.'_ He made a small comment. "Y-you smell nice." _'Oh yeah that's reeaal good.'_ He rolled his eyes in sarcasm. She looked up at him and laughed. "Heh, well it's not the worst one I've heard. Do you know what tomorrow the first day is of?" He honestly had no idea. "I give up. What is it?" She giggled again, "I'll give you a hint, starts with an 'M'" He ran through anything that started with 'M'…then it hit him. "Oh, dear god…"

"I take it you guessed it. Meet me in the southwestern grove at noon tomorrow. Ok?" She pecked him on the check, and then blushed. _'Whoa, why did I just do that?'_ he stiffened again. "Y-yeah ok." Then he looked at her and was lost in her eyes and her in his. Then for the first time…they shared their first real and passionate kiss. Darius inwardly smiled, He had finally found the girl of his dreams.

/ / / / / / /

Things went on like this for the next two weeks, although with a little more detail that I will not go into. At the end of the second week however things started to cool down. And a certain dragoness could be found sitting in a small store-room. Layla paced back and forth, trying to decide on a course of action. _'I know what I'm supposed to do, but how do I get him to join with Malefor. I doubt he'll come by choice.'_ Then a small crow interrupted her thoughts with a loud caw. It was perched on the window sill and had a very small package in its beak and a note. She carefully approached the bird and took the parcel from it. Then the crow flew away. She undid the ties and the note reads as follows.

_'Well now Layla seems you're stuck again. But know worries. Use the stone in the package to overshadow Darius's mind. Then get out of the area and meet back at the cavern. It's a very simple plan so it should be hard to screw up. Still, don't screw up!'_

_ M_

The "M" was a complex and twisted shape. This was sent by Malefor. She pulled the stone, which was on a steel chain, around her neck and smiled. "Finally…Lets get this over with."


	20. Chapter 19 Finale

The next few days went well for everyone, especially Darius. That is until battle training.

The group was in the training hall, going over a new flight scenario when the doors suddenly burst open. A green dragon slowly marched in, his eyes red with fury. Spyro stepped in front of everyone else. "Hey buddy the hall is reserved, no one else is allowed in right now."

Instead of replying the green dragon launched a red bolt of energy from his tail. It wrapped around the purple dragon and threw him across the room. He hit the wall and the energy bound him to it. The others immediately went on the defensive. The attacking dragon locked eyes with Darius. His voice was slightly twisted by the energy but still recognizable. "_Well Darius it's been a while. But now I have enough power to not only defeat you and achieve my revenge but to completely annihilate you!" _

Everyone gasped. Luna spoke up, "K-kain? What happened to you?"

"_Why my dear I have gained an all new level of power. It's called chaos, and it's such an amazing feeling. Once I'm done with the fool I'll show you first hand." _Kain replied in a seductive voice. Luna sneered in disgust and sidled closer to Darius. Upon seeing this Kain glanced between the two and made the connection. _"HA! So you two ended up together, eh? BIG MISTAKE!" _At the end of his little speech he unleashed a wave of energy from his body and threw everyone against the walls. Then he charged Darius head-on and took himself and the black dragon strait through the wall.

\ \ \ \

Am massive crash caught Layla's attention. Smoke and dust rose up from the direction of the training hall. She spread her wings and flew off, scanning for any sign of what caused the disturbance. What she saw amazed her. A dragon cloaked in red energy was lashing out at another black dragon with tendrils of the energy. Then the black dragon caught her eye, and she mentally gasped. _'That's him! Malefor will kill me if he dies. I have to act fast.' _

She dived into the cover of a nearby alleyway to watch the fight. She grabbed the stone and began to channel her energy.

\ \ \ \

Darius struggled to stand. He was covered in dust and bruises but thankfully no breaks. Kain was just a few feet off, laughing and unharmed. _**"Ha! So you have some fight in you then! You will pay dearly for causing me so much pain!" **_

He whipped his tail around and hit Darius with a rather large bolt of chaos. The power ripped through him like electricity mixed with fire and darkness. He screamed in pain and collapsed again. No one had ever seen power like this before, though it reminded Spyro of convexity. The others picked themselves up and dived out of the hole to assist the black dragon but Kain stopped them with a solid wall of energy. _**"NO! This is our fight! No interference!" **_

The wall became a dome that covered the whole of the courtyard. Darius grunted in pain but stood tall. "If you insist on fighting, then you're in for one hell in a fight." He got into a defensive stance and the two began circling like wolves. Kain Snarled but Darius never so much as blinked. Then suddenly Kain leapt towards Darius, Claws outstretched and ready to rip through his opponents flesh. Darius focused on the claws and at the last minute, aligned himself with the shadows he controlled. Kain passed harmlessly _ through _him. Kain was surprised to say the least and hit the ground with his face. The impact made him see stars and he slowly got up. As he turned his attention back to Darius, he was met with a shadow-engulfed claw to the face. The shadowy acid began burning Kains flesh, but the chaos prevented any real damage. Kain smirked in twisted delight that Darius horrified expression. _**"You did not think that you could beat me so easily did you? You are a fool. No one and nothing can beat me in any more, not even Malefor." **_Darius thought fast. He knew this was going to end badly. He had to end this, either by killing him, or calming him. Kain began swing large arcs of Chaos around, like the arms of an octopus. Anything they touched was destroyed. Darius ducked and weaved, but one caught him in the side stunning him a second, another in the back sent him to the ground. He could only see red; Kains maniacal laughter filled his head. Then something snapped in him and he felt more power than ever. With a roar of fury he unleashed a wave of dark energy and blew Kain off his feet. His entire body became encased is shadows and they began to grow, until he was twice his size. Kain became very frightened and yelped as a ball of acid struck his side. His wards couldn't block it. Darius launched long tendrils of shadow that wrapped around Kains limbs and pulled him closer. Darius stared at him with bright yellow eyes. **"Kain! You are a fool to fight me! In the end one of us will die and either way it will be a waste! Malefor is still a threat and we are squabbling like two hatchlings! We need everyone's help to stop him…Kain, I am sorry for the pain I caused you." **Darius returned to normal and set him down. "Can you forgive me?" Kain was shaken. He was defeated and weakened to the point of near exhaustion from the shadows. He slowly nodded. Darius smiled, "Good. I do hope we can be friends in the future." He held out a paw, which Kain took, a little uncertain of what to do.

/ / / / /

Layla finished the charge. _'How touching…I hate it. Time to end all the happiness.' _

She held the gem out and focused on Darius. The gem flared with purple light then exploded, sending the energy strait at the black dragon.

/ / / / /

Darius saw the flash, but it moved so fast he had no tie to react. The energy hit him and he could feel the power begin to over shadow him. He growled in pain and agony. His eyes shifted to the same dark purple and his voice warped in a horrible evil cackle. Kain jumped back. "Darius!" the others ran to Kains side with the barrier gone and watched as the energy warped Darius's form into a more "adult" version of the young dragon. A second set of horns sprouted from his skull as wicked looking blades appeared on his forearms and legs. His tail blade split into to evil looking scythes and his teeth sharpened and grew longer. Cynder gasped in recognition. He was corrupted.

Luna ran up to him, shouting. "Darius! Darius snap out of it!" He looked at her and swatted her away with his tail. Spyro lobbed a massive earth shot at his head and hit him. Darius stumbled and fell, but then righted himself and jumped into the air, flapping awkwardly and roaring.

The others gathered around Luna. She lay unmoving but convulsing in her crying. "He's gone…I can't believe it. Gone…"

There was a huge explosion as fire flew into the sky and rained down on the city. Wyverns began to fill the sky as other members of Malefors army stormed the gates and broke them free of their hinges and swarmed in. Spyro and Cynder were dumbfounded to be witnessing this all over again. Darius's corrupted form was joined by another, smaller one, and together they rained hell upon those on the ground. Spyro went into battle mode. "Solaris, Kain! Get the smaller one! Cynder and I will take care of Darius." He said this rather grudgingly, as the prospect of hurting a friend was horrible to him. Despite this they flew off, Solaris and Kain in hot pursuit of the smaller dragon while Spyro and Cynder met Darius head on. They crashed into him and held on tight, trying to pin his wings. Darius spun hard and flug them off, then unleashed a shadow torrent at them. They rolled apart and launched their own attacks, Spyro with fire and Cynder with poison. Darius dodged the poison but was caught in the inferno. He screeched in agony and swiped at Spyro. He was so fast that Spyro couldn't evade, but at the last second Darius reeled back and missed. He grabbed hid head and flew off into the forest. Spyro and Cynder watched, baffled. Then a minute later they watched him take off again and fly towards the mountains.

The battle was still raging around them as the group met up near Luna again. But they didn't care, Darius was lost and a new war had begun. Malefor had won this time and it crushed their spirits. Luna was still curled up in sorrow. The time of peace was over…

_**THE END**_


End file.
